Distracted drivers

In event No. 1, the driver of a white construction pickup leaving a subdivision pulled way over the crosswalk area, sat there looking at his phone/messages. No cars were coming, but I was on my bike attempting to cross the street.

I had to physically get up to the passenger window and knock on same for him to realize he was both distracted and in the way.

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In event No. 2, the driver of a dark red sport utility vehicle was leaving a subdivision. The driver pulled way over the crosswalk while talking on his phone.

I had been slowing down, so I thought he saw me. He had a stop sign.

Instead he kept rolling, and then yelled at me for not stopping. He had a stop sign.

Seriously, people. Put the phones away.

Lisa Round

Overland Park

Republican failure

After Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election, the Republican National Committee held an “autopsy” to determine the reasons for the loss. The Republicans concluded that Romney lost the election over his failure to win Hispanic votes because of his plan to self-deport 11 million illegal immigrants.

So, the RNC decided it would have to become more inclusive and diverse if Republicans wanted to win the White House in 2016. But, their 2016 presidential nominee, Donald Trump plans to round up and deport all illegal immigrants. His xenophobic agenda includes building a wall on our southern border, and he has called Mexicans “rapists.”

Hispanics comprise more than 17 percent of the electorate, so a presidential candidate cannot win the White House without minority support. But once again, Republicans have nominated a candidate who has alienated Hispanics.

Obviously, Republicans did not learn their lesson from four years ago, failing to become more inclusive.

This is only the tip of the iceberg as 150,000 Kansans go without health insurance coverage because Brownback and the Legislature refuse to expand Medicaid under provisions of the Affordable Care Act. Since this option has been available, Kansas has turned away $1.3 billion in Medicaid federal funds.

Instead, these federal taxes we pay are flowing to 31 other states and Washington, D.C., which have chosen to expand Medicaid to benefit their citizens. In fact, states that have expanded Medicaid are experiencing lower mortality, according to the Alliance for a Healthy Kansas.

Expanding Medicaid also will protect Kansas hospitals and communities, especially 30 rural hospitals that are at risk of closing, and create 3,800 new jobs. A change of heart in the Legislature could begin to take root after the primary election.

Voting in moderate legislators could be the best short-term opportunity Kansans have to reverse the downward spiral of the state’s economy and social services.

Ron Fugate

Overland Park

No vote on Trump

To those who can’t decide the lesser of two evils for president I ask, are you serious? Dislike Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton all you want, but having seen Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in all of his ugliness for the last year, it’s unimaginable that Americans could ever consider him presidential. He’s embarrassing and frightening on all levels.

Some call him good for our country because he’s different. Others call him arrogant, ignorant, racist, sexist, pompous, narcissistic, egotistical, and a mean and nasty person. At a time when we are often shocked by the degree of disrespect and hatred we display toward our fellow Americans, we don’t need a president like Donald Trump to make things worse.

And that’s just domestic. Now that he’s revealed his true admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, a power-crazy despot, there is no telling how Trump would damage America and the world on the international front.

It has been said that all that is required for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. Don’t let your dislike of the only viable presidential candidate cause you to make an irreversible mistake.

Please stand up for yourself and for America and cast a vote against the evil that is Donald Trump.

Scott Roby

Lenexa

Foreign policy void

At the Democratic National Convention last month, President Barack Obama and others lauded Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s national security skills. The irony is huge.

These speakers really believe the public is stupid. They think we have forgotten what she did as secretary of state with her personal server.

She put our national security at risk and honest experts believe our enemies now know our secrets. Talk about ignoring the elephant in the room.

This behavior is so typical of Democrats. They use the playbook rules for radicals to repeat a lie so many times that gullible people start believing it.

Another example of this strategy is Democrats bragging about the eight years of Obama. Contrary to Vice President Joe Biden’s comment, Obama will go down as one of the worst U.S. presidents.

Two of the biggest dooffuses in politics hail from the Kansas City area — the press secretary and now theDemocratic vice presidential nominee, who seeks to impress us with his Spanish, not a difficult language.

English is our national language. Mrs. Trump speaks five languages fluently. That’s impressive.

Steve Prosser

Overland Park

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